Simple Wonton Soup: Our Family's Go-to Recipe - The Woks of Life (2024)

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I’m always happy with a bowl of this wonton soup.

Wonton Soup is something that seems familiar to a lot of us. Take the wonton soup from your local takeout place…$2.25 for the small, $4.25 for the large. The most dipped-into pot in the Chinese buffet line. Those giant rubbery yellow dumplings that take at least three bites to tackle.

While I do have a soft spot in my heart for those giant rubbery takeout wontons (like the guilty pleasure of a fast food cheeseburger), there’s nothing like the wonton soup recipe my mom has been making––and that we’ve been eating––for decades.

(ACTUAL decades. Because unlike the 23-year-old me that originally published this post, I’m now 28/almost 29, soon-to-be staring down age 30. But who’s counting?)

Note: This wonton soup recipe was originally published in December 2013. In order to bring back one of our old favorites, we’ve updated it with new photos. Though the tried-and-true recipe is the same, we’ve updated the instructions a bit to make them clearer!

Why THIS Wonton Soup Recipe?

You may never look at another wonton soup recipe after you make this one. But why?

We’ve published many OTHER great wonton soup recipes, like:

• Classic Cantonese Wonton Noodle Soup (Bonus! Not only are there wontons, there are noodles involved.)
• Shanghai Style Wontons (Smaller, one-bite wontons that are just like the ones you’d get from a Shanghai street vendor.)
• San Xian Wontons (“Three Flavor” Wontons, with chicken, pork, AND shrimp.)

All that said, THIS simple wonton soup recipe is the one that we come back to again and again.

Traditionally, wontons are very delicate little things, sometimes filled with vegetables and usually pork…served in a flavorful broth seasoned with some sesame oil and white pepper.

There are different types and versions, but for us, this is wonton soup in its simplest, purest form.

A Note on Wonton Wrappers

Head to your local Asian grocer for the wonton wrappers. You’ll see a couple different kinds, including ones made with just white flour and others made with eggs (you’ll be able to tell because they’re yellow and they’re thinner––we use those wrappers for our Cantonese wonton soup and Shanghai-Style wonton soup).

But for this recipe, you’re looking for square shaped wrappers that are white.

This recipe uses 1 pack of wonton wrappers, which usually makes about three dozen, or about four to six servings.

For more information on wonton wrappers, check out our Chinese Noodles and wrappers page, which describes all types of noodles, wonton wrappers, dumpling skins and more!

So easy to follow and delicious, this wonton soup recipe will serve you for years to come. The wontons can be frozen for quick and easy meals during the week, or for a lazy weekend morning brunch.

Let’s talk about how to make them.

Our Go-to Simple Wonton Soup Recipe: Instructions

Start by thoroughly washing your leafy green vegetables. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch the vegetables just until wilted, about 60-90 seconds. Drain and rinse in cold water. Grab a good clump of veg and carefully squeeze out as much water as you can.

Very finely chop the vegetables (you can also speed up the process by throwing them in the food processor). Repeat until all the vegetables are chopped.

In a medium bowl, add the finely chopped vegetables, ground pork, 2 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil, pinch of white pepper, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1-2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine.

Mix very thoroughly until the mixture is totally emulsified—almost like a paste.

Now it’s time to assemble! Fill a small bowl with water. Grab a wrapper and use your finger to moisten the edges of the wrapper. Add a little over a teaspoon of filling to the middle.

Fold the wrapper in half and press the two sides together so you get a firm seal. If using a rectangular wonton wrapper, you can fold it all the way in half.

Hold the bottom two corners of the little rectangle you just made (the side where the filling is) and bring the two corners together.

You can use a bit of water to make sure they stick.

And that’s it! (Check out our step-by-step guide to folding wontons for more details!)

At this point, you can cook (boil) and taste a couple of wontons and adjust the seasoning of your filling to taste––you can always add a little more Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and/or white pepper to your liking.

Once you’re happy with the flavor of the filling, keep assembling until all the filling is gone. Place the wontons on a baking sheet or plate lined with parchment paper, and make sure they are not touching (this will prevent sticking).

To make the soup, heat your chicken stock to a simmer and add 2-3 teaspoons sesame oil and white pepper and salt to taste.

Bring a separate pot of water to a boil. Carefully add the wontons one at a time to the pot. Pick up the pot and use a swirling, twisting motion to keep the pot moving and prevent the wontons from sticking to the bottom.

If they do stick, don’t worry, They should come free once they’re cooked.

Once they’re floating, boil them for another 1-2 minutes. Take care not to overcook them – mushy wontons are a sin!

Remove the wontons with a slotted spoon and put them in bowls. Pour the soup over the wontons and garnish with scallions. Serve!

Freezing Wontons For Later

We highly recommend making a big batch of wontons and freezing them for wonton soup anytime the mood strikes.

To freeze your wontons, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet or plate (as long as it will fit in your freezer) so that they are not touching. If they’re touching, they’ll stick together when frozen, making them very difficult/nearly impossible to separate for cooking!

Cover the wontons (we usually use clean plastic grocery bags and just put the entire plate/baking sheet inside and close the bags.

Transfer the wontons to the freezer, and freeze overnight, or however long it takes to freeze them solid (in our experience, this takes 4-6 hours).

Once frozen, transfer them to freezer bags and put them back into the freezer for long-term storage. They’ll keep for a couple months, and be ready for wonton soup whenever you want it!